Allen says today's report is a road map, showing the way forward for the relationship between local and central government. Photograph: Peter Noyce LC/Alamy

The relationship between central and local government may not appear to be the sexiest concern of voters, but it is fundamental to the health of our democracy, the gene pool of our politics and the ability to provide effective services for voters. It has never been more important for local government to be able to control its own political and financial destiny as Lansbury and Chamberlain did when localities drove our economic progress and our social and public health agendas.

For too long local governance has been at the whim of Whitehall who control the powers and funding of our localities. We propose local government powers are codified then protected from easy repeal by an amendment to the Parliament Act.

The committee is not calling for more funding to local government, just a change in the funding system that will put an end to taxes being collected from local people, going to Whitehall and then given back to localities at Whitehall's discretion. We want to cut out the middleman so that English local government like Scotland is automatically assigned a share of income tax and spends it on the local services that they decide are needed.

The job is not done with a report. We propose continuing dialogue with government and the LGA building on the record number of responses to our consultation. These came from councillors and non councillors alike, from across parties and around the country. The majority expressed a strong appetite for a statutory code.

These steps may seem radical, but they are simply bringing England in line with all other Western democracies around the world. Even the rest of the UK has more local power than England. Devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland has allowed these countries power over their own affairs. However England is the last country in the empire and continues to be micromanaged by Whitehall keen to dictate to the localities what is best for them. Scotland has already been given the power to set their own income tax for Scottish people. The Commission on Devolution has suggested similar powers for the Welsh assembly and Northern Ireland won't be far behind. England should come to the devolution party using our locally elected councils as the means.

This report offers a solution that can make both Eric Pickles and local councils across the country happy. A new, more mature relationship between central and local government needs to develop, and this report is a road map for the way forward.